Comments for Ouch.

Ouch.

2005-09-08T11:31:41Z

With a Hat tip to Right Wing News...

I'm standing by my initial assessment.

President Bush took too long to be visible.

Homeland Security bobbled, but didn't fail.

The State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans... failed their citizens miserably.

After the mess is cleaned up... what will they do about it?

We know what the City is doing short-term... sending City employees on paid vacations to Las Vegas. While the Fire Department of New York volunteers and military forces cover for them.

From the NYT article linked above:

The Police
City to Offer Free Trips to Las Vegas for Officers

By JOSEPH B. TREASTER and CHRISTOPHER DREW
Published: September 5, 2005
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 4 - A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families.

The scope of the disasters were different... but FDNY took one hell of a hit - a bigger hit in terms of dead and missing - on 9/11... and their response was to work overtime.

The Big Easy, indeed.

The Snarkatron blearily looks up from her somnolent slumber, flicks out her flensing-knife fingernails, and carves off some breakfast.

Comment from Cricket on 2005-09-09

2005-09-09T20:53:22Z

I had another post up there and decided not to put it up because it sounded like I was whining. I admire the skill, dedication and professionalism of our military and for the Louisiana troops to not catch their breath just goes to show the rottenness of the timing. However, that dimbulb of a Mayor should give the troops the paid vacations to Vegas instead of the NOPD and government agencies who are worn out with the justified indignation of this country. Something about corruption rings a bell....

Comment from cw4(ret)billt on 2005-09-09

2005-09-09T06:37:45Z

Just to stir the coals a bit, the Louisiana ARNG troops returning from Iraq shortly will be given four days leave and then put to work pulling security patrols on the streets. When I raised the point that those troopies who lived in New Orleans wouldn't be getting much time to decompress, the answer was a collective *sigh* I sat in on an informal debrief from one of the LAARNG folks who was among the last of the people evacuated from the Superdome, and he was on his way back there--with weapons, this time. It'll make a short-but-interesting post for the weekend; the bottom line is that there was a significant Guard presence in N'awluns before the hurricane hit, and they'd set up and were ready to roll on both rescue and security missions. Then the levee broke. More later...

Comment from Boquisucio on 2005-09-08

2005-09-09T01:01:08Z

Cricket - Good thing that I got my rant against our elected officials out of my system, on a PRIOR post. Though I am still simmering under the surface. What's very evident, is the total breakdown in NOPD's leadership. That mass desertion from their post clearly denotes low morale, and a non-existent spirit de corps.

Comment from JarheadDad on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T22:53:18Z

Saw the New York convoy headed south today as I was coming out. Had their lights agoin' and getting on down the road. Pretty cool! Wait 'til they get a load of the NO mayor! heh!

Comment from Cricket on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T21:16:23Z

Remember the Peter Principal. They have been elected to their level of incompetence. I agree that the governor should step down as well as that loser of a Mayor. What kind of trust could you have in someone like that? I am disappointed in Bush. He should have at least cut his trip short. However, what was he going to do after the city and the state had been warned? What should he have done to be more leaderly? I am thinking since I have the benefit of hindsight is he ought to have urged and scolded and NAGGED the mayor and governor to evacuate the city. But for them to say that he should have come to 'their' rescue is naive. If he had done that, they would have called him a bully, especially if the devastation was minimal. This president can't win for losing. These are the same people who whined about invading Iraq in one breath and then damn him in the next for not going in ready to impose martial law and sending in the military right away.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T20:50:30Z

Whoof! Yer a tough audience, Cassie! You heartless Rethuglican, you!

Comment from Cassandra on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T20:46:45Z

More whining from professionally incompetent losers.

Comment from Cricket on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T19:13:57Z

Lemme get this straight: The mayor of Nawlins after a long hard session of sitting on his brain, evacuates the city employees to Vegas as a way for them to decompress, but couldn't, in nearly how many years of his administration, figger out an evacuation plan in an emergency. Not only that, we are going to pay for all of it. Got it. Twit.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-09-08

2005-09-08T11:48:12Z

Heh. Department of Redundancy Department Alert.